The Bittersweet Life

Was Pope Francis really arrested by the FBI last weekend? Did all the lights in the Vatican go out to hide this event from the world? And most importantly, did Pope Francis really change all the votes cast from Italy in the November election from Trump to Biden?

We're guessing you know the answers to these questions, but we address these questions this wild theory anyway on our latest mini-episode.

For further reading check out this post by Rome resident and Vatican expert Mountain Butorac on his blog The Catholic Traveler, as well as this informative article from Reuters.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Do Italian parents really take their toddlers out to restaurants at 10pm? Do they really go home for lunch during the work day and take a nap?

Thanks to an idea sent in by a listener, today we dig into some of the norms of Italian daily life and how it compares to life in the US. Tiffany busts some myths and shares the ways she's assimilated to the Italian lifestyle, as well as the American habits she just can't shake.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Whether a funky mug from Prague, a hand-painted ceramic bowl from Mexico, or a random dish picked up off the street in Japan, there's got to be one special souvenir that has a place in your heart and on your shelf, and takes you back to wherever you found it.

Thanks to a listener suggestion, today we're putting out a call for our listeners' favorite souvenirs, whether purchased or found, handmade or mass produced, from as far away as the South China Sea or as near as one town over.

Record yourself talking about it on your phone's voice memo app, then email it to us at [email protected], along with a photo (optional). We will share some of them on a future episode!

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

After the catastrophe that was 2020, we go back and listen to the resolutions we made one year ago. Did we manage to accomplish ANY of them? You'll have to listen to find out.

We also make plans for the year ahead, and even dare to make a few resolutions, although we are humbled by the crazy year we've all just lived for and so are keeping our resolutions a bit less ambitious this year.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

It's finally the end of 2020!! We made it! But the close of what many are calling the worst year in living memory won't be rung in as many people would like to: carousing and celebrating in the streets. Instead, most of us are stuck inside, especially those of us in Italy where curfews and lockdowns mean most people will be staying home.

Tiffany and Katy talk about Rome's complicated and baffling restrictions over the holiday period and how they'll be celebrating in their respective cities. Happy New Year and see you in 2021!

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Lots of out-of-work tour guides are now offering virtual tours of Rome (and, I imagine, cities all around the world), as a way to keep their businesses alive, keep their knowledge fresh, and help people who are stuck at home feel like they are traveling. But way back in April, while we were all stuck inside and not even permitted to go for a walk more than 200 meters from home (at least in Rome), we created an auditory virtual tour of Rome. And the coolest part? We did it from our own homes—halfway across the world from each other.

Katy drew on her vast collection of sounds she has captured over the years, Tiffany brought her knowledge of Rome and its history, and Katy put it all together with her exceptional sound-editing skills. The result has to be heard to be believed. When we originally posted this episode back in April, several listeners actually thought we had indeed taped it on the streets of Rome.

Today, for our very last episode of 2020, we decided to repost our most popular episode of the year, and, not surprisingly, this was it.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

It's Christmas Eve and Tiffany interviews one little child who is looking forward to the big day. Enjoy this mini-burst of holiday cheer and Merry Christmas from your friends at The Bittersweet Life.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Just in time for last-minute Christmas shopping, the "world's librarian" Nancy Pearl, who is also a best-selling author herself, shares her favorite books for giving (or reading yourself) this holiday season (find titles and links below).

Nancy also shares her advice for testing out a new friendship: give your new friend a book for Christmas, and whether they bother to read it (or love it or hate it) might inform whether your friendship has longterm potential.

Here our Nancy's picks for this holiday season:

The Company: A Novel of the CIA by Robert Littell

The Quiet Americans: Four CIA Spies at the Dawn of the Cold War-a Tragedy in Three Acts by Scott Anderson

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (illustrated) by Gertrude Stein and Maira Kalman

Here We Are by Graham Swift

Hench: A Novel by Natalie Zina Walschots

Set My Heart to Five: A Novel by Simon Stephenson

Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown

Find Nancy on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or at her website.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Katy catches up with Matthew P. Woerner, the writer and director of Monday's audio play "After Midnight," who also happens to be a childhood friend. On this mini-episode, they discuss their mutual love for old-time radio, and hypothesize on what makes radio theater unique. Matthew talks about his inspiration for "After Midnight," and how he got the radio bug. They also reminisce about their childhood and what Katy was like as a kid.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Get a cup of your favorite hot drink, find a cozy corner, and sit back and enjoy a totally different kind of show. Today we're presenting a special radio play inspired by the Golden Age of radio drama, the very medium that made Katy fall in love with radio and go into a career as a public radio producer and podcaster.

After Midnight was written and directed by Matthew P. Woerner, a childhood friend of Katy. During the long, solitary months of lockdown, as many people were pursuing new creative endeavors (or reviving ones that had long been left dormant), Matthew built a sound studio in his basement, wrote a radio drama, and recorded it, complete with live actors and home-made sound effects. Close your eyes and imagine you're in a different time as we present this suspenseful and delicious piece of theater of the mind.

Find Matthew Woerner on Instagram and Facebook.

--------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!